Tried-it Tuesday: Laminators and stickers and differentiation

It's time for Tried it Tuesday with Fourth Grade Flipper!!

I tried my brand new Christmas present...my very own LAMINATOR!!

I used my laminator for the first time yesterday to get some new literacy stations ready, and it worked so well! Plus, I got to laminate from the comfort of my own living room while catching up on Downton Abbey...LOVE!

 

In other news, my school just loooooooooves for us teachers to differentiate literacy stations. Does anyone else work at a school like this? At first, differentiating stations was so daunting. I have mixed-ability groups, so how will students know what activity to do? Here's my solution:

 

STICKERS!!!!

 

These stickers match my reading groups (I used to have an orange group, but I had to switch it to blue so I would have a sticker for it!). I just stick these bad boys on folders, cookie sheets, plastic bags, or puzzle boxes to show which reading groups should do each assignment.

 

 

What I've noticed about kids is they always want to do the activity that's NOT assigned to them. Sigh. The grass is always greener, right? So now I've started telling students they have to do their colored activity FIRST and then they can do the other activity. This seems to keep them happy enough.

 

So there you have it. My fabulous, not-so-fancy-but-that's-ok-because-it-works sticker system. I hope this helps you in your own differentiation!

 

Stay warm tonight!!!!